The invention relates to remote surveillance and communications technology, particularly to integrated fixed and mobile network electronics and related software for object attribute processing.
Remote or local object monitoring schemes have been used for various specific surveillance applications, such as closed-circuit security video systems, as well as wireless mobile navigation systems using relatively near reference or distant satellite signals (e.g., Global Positioning Satellite system (GPS)). Prior techniques and systems for remotely monitoring typically provide positional or visual information of interest about certain object context, e.g., bank facility surveillance (see: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,524,384, 4,511,886), or trucking vehicle movement (see: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,673,305, 5,223,844); however, such prior art schemes are necessarily limited to addressing either fixed or mobile context specifically for which the particular monitoring system has been designed originally.
Hence, there is need for more flexible and scaleable solution for monitoring and processing remote objects according to various more general context and related object conditions.
The invention resides in an integrated fixed and/or wireless network and associated database and software functionality for monitoring and processing remote and/or local moveable objects. Preferably, the system implementation integrates singlechip digital imaging camera and Global Positioning Satellite system (GPS) receivers through generally accessible server processors using the Internet network and a software browser or functionally equivalent interface coupled thereto for monitoring and analyzing remote or local movement of one or more objects.
An object database or functionally equivalent data structure provided in digital storage and accessible to control software dynamically stores one or more positional and relative movement as well as optional associated map data. Various digital cameras preferably disposed at certain fixed and/or movable locations detect mobile objects and generate object image signal for processing thereof as described herein for particular applications.